Balancing taking care of yourself and caring for loved ones can be hard and confusing. Sometimes, taking more me-time or giving a friend space, versus being there for them, can lead to a heated and tearful argument or feelings of guilt. Other times, doing so creates an outcome of a healthy and strong platonic or romantic relationship.

Balancing taking care of yourself and caring for loved ones can be hard and confusing. Sometimes, taking more me-time or giving a friend space, versus being there for them, can lead to a heated and tearful argument or feelings of guilt. Other times, doing so creates an outcome of a healthy and strong platonic or romantic relationship.

“I laughed, I smiled, I cried so happily. It felt like 21 years of my family’s shame had been zapped away by my magical potion of speech,” said Kelsey*, a “Speak Out!” speaker.The WINGS Foundation, located in Denver, Colorado, hosted donation-based event “Speak Out!” on Saturday April 14 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Hampden Hall where six adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse publicly shared their stories in front of a packed, community audience.

“I remember a hypnosis that we did was like, it was me talking to my 12 year old self,” said Marissa Mayer.“…I literally had to have the room to myself to cry and punch a pillow because I was so…like 12 year old Marissa was running the show.”

Artists pour out their emotions from their conscious and subconscious thoughts when they write, record and perform it for audiences who in turn heal from the music. Many artists suffer from anxiety and depression. Being an artist for a living can be rewarding and medicinal, but can conversely stimulate more mental health issues. An obvious reason that this happens is because of the long erratic hours for little pay. However, a more subtle correlation is, energetically, after a performance, the artist has relived the story they wrote about and given a part of themselves to the audience. Afterward, when everyone is gone, it can feel like something is missing. The adrenaline rush is gone. The people parading around them are gone. The compliments, the love from fans, are all too quickly gone….It takes strength and passion to be an artist.